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The Allentown 911 Center became one of only a handful of emergency dispatch units in the nation to use text messaging when a person needs help, city officials announced Thursday.

Only three other 911 centers in the state and less than 1000 nationwide use text messaging for people unable to make a voice 911 call, Mayor Ed Pawlowski said.

"I'm very happy to be able to provide this service in the city," Pawlowski said. "Technology here is always improving."

Pawlowski announced the city's partnership with Telecommunications Systems Inc. and Verizon Wireless to provide an interim text messaging program. Pawlowski said the service will only be available to Verizon customers within range of an Allentown cell tower, but service to people with other wireless carriers should be available in the near future.

Communications Superintendent Mike Hilbert called the texting service is the "beginning steps of the next generation 911 services." He said dispatchers have been training with the service for weeks and it is currently available to all Verizon customers.

Hilbert stressed that people should only use the texting service in emergencies where someone is unable to talk, either because they are speech- or hearing-impaired or are suffering from a medical emergency that prevents them from speaking. Hilbert said texting is not instantaneous, which is critical during a life-threatening emergency.

"Call when you can, but text when you can't because of the inherent slowness of texting to 911," Hilbert said, adding that dispatchers will be texting follow-up questions to a texter, like asking them for their location and injury information.

Allentown police Assistant Chief Keith Morris said texting can be critical when a caller is trying to remain quiet, during harrowing situations like a home-invasion robbery, an abduction or a hostage situation.

On Wednesday, Bethlehem police described texting as a double-edged sword, saying it helped and hindered their investigation into a lockdown at Liberty High School. Students stranded in the lockdown were able to text their parents to let them know they are safe, but also texted rumors of a shooting and a person with a gun that went unfounded and prolonged the investigation, police said.

Morris said "the simplicity of texting cannot overshadow the importance of making a phone call."

The only 911 centers using texting services are in Lebanon County, Lancaster County and Dauphin County. At the start of the year, the FCC adopted a policy with a goal of having all wireless phone companies to provide 911 text messaging capabilities.

Morris said, "once again the city of Allentown is in the forefront of technology."

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